So we bought a brand new 2014 Nissan Patrol LE

So we bought a brand new 2014 Nissan Patrol LE

2014 Nissan Patrol in the UAE

Having let go of our Range Rover, we were on the look-out for a three-row SUV that could fit up to 7 people. Requirements change, and now that my second child was born a month ago, I’d have run out of space once my parents come to stay with us for babysitting duties. Car-shopping is easily one of the most awful processes you can go through, especially when it comes to used cars. However, the bigger story is why we bought this 2014 Nissan Patrol LE — with zero mileage and a full dealer warranty!

Mind you, before we settled on a Nissan Patrol, we played out a whole host of scenarios in our heads. Would another more-reliable 5-seater SUV be enough? Do we just rent a 7-seater as needed? Do we just beg for a 7-seater from a carmaker as a pointless 2-month long-termer?

Well, we started off shopping for used Jeep Grand Cherokee SRTs, Range Rover Sports, BMW X5s and Mercedes-Benz G55 AMGs. There were several listed on various classifieds websites, but we only went to see a handful of them. Most of their stories weren’t particularly enticing on the phone, with skipped services, vague ownership histories and no admissions of accidents, even though clearly visible in photos.

We then switched to looking at cars at prominent used-car dealerships. The used car dealers continue to be a joke. We saw one 2012 Jeep SRT with new “Deestone” tyres, hardly the top name in performance rubber, so who knows where else they skimped. We saw a 2014 Range Rover Sport with a repaint so comprehensive that they forgot to put most of the badges back on. We saw a 2010 Mercedes G55, which this self-proclaimed “premium” dealer tried to blackmail us into buying by initially refusing to return our “test-drive” deposit, which they had clearly told us was refundable. Even worse, the G-Wagen had no service history, and they told us they can just go down to the dealer and get the service booklet stamped because they have insiders there. We still made an offer, and they refused it. We eventually got our money back after raising our voices slightly. They advertised the car two weeks later at our original asking price, but we weren’t going back there again. As for the various 2014 BMW X5 models, we simply lost interest, having never driven one and not having the desire to psycho-analyse their current owners on why they are selling.

We then started hitting the official dealer-affiliated outfits. We went to the one-and-only Automall, made an offer on their ridiculously marked-up Jeep SRT and the salesman didn’t even bother negotiating, choosing to let their car sit and fester for months instead. It’s still there, if you want to pick one up for 20% above market value. Skimming through the ads for certified-preowned Range Rovers and Nissan Patrols, we figured it’d be the same story with the other dealers as well.

That was the first time we even thought of Patrols, and we finally settled on it as the ideal family bus to carry seven people and two prams, while being just premium enough to get some road respect. We started trawling through ads for “Y62” Patrols, with a vague budget of Dhs 100,000, or maybe even Dhs 150,000. We can afford a new one, but we’d rather put our money into property — you know, something that makes money and doesn’t depreciate. However, we ended up coming up with the same type of junk that hounded us in our earlier search. Most used Patrols are high-mileage, poorly-maintained or just had plain mysterious histories.

After a while, my buddy Asif contacts me. He works at the Nissan dealer’s pre-owned division, is a follower of our website, and he had sold us that Renault Safrane back in 2010. He tells me (on Whatsapp!) he heard I’m shopping for Patrols. I said I wanted an LE since it has the better 400 hp engine, and I wanted at least one trim-level above the base LE, so I can get the integrated multimedia system instead of the ratty aftermarket-looking one they stuff in the base models. That’s all. Unnecessary navigation, leather and “city” bumpers be damned.

2014 Nissan Patrol in the UAE 4

As luck would have it, he had a 2014 Patrol LE in the exact spec that I preferred, that too in a colour I would’ve picked if I bought new. And to top it off, it was a “zero-mileage” leftover car! Asif tells me there is a Ramadan offer coming up, so it will be further discounted from their Dhs 222,000 advertised price. A new one costs Dhs 262,000 at least. I was then negotiating with him on Whatsapp without even seeing the car.

In under an hour, we finally settled on a cash price that was even more eye-poppingly lower. Let’s just say, with the money I saved on a new model, I could buy another Honda S2000. This is without any “under-the-table” media discounts that many carmakers give journalists, but we don’t want to disclose the final price as we might single-handedly kill resale values of Patrols in the UAE inadvertently. We were just shopping in the right place at the right time. The next day, we just wrote a cheque at the new Arabian Automobiles used cars showroom on Ittihad Road, and picked up the car a week later. This is as hassle-free as used-car buying can get.

2014 Nissan Patrol in the UAE 2

So there you have it. We now own a brand new 2014 Nissan Patrol LE with a 4-year leftover warranty. As part of Nissan’s certified programme, they even threw in new Bridgestone tyres without asking, as the old unused ones had flatspotted. It’s my first “new” car, and while it’s not as luxurious as my old Range Rover, it at least gives me peace-of-mind for the next several years as a family bus for my kids. Even if I bought it on a Whatsapp chat.

Leave a Reply to Zao Cancel reply

*

Comments

  1. Congrats on the latest addition to your family Mash.. both the 2 legged and the 4 wheeled kind.. 😉

  2. Congratzz mash…

    Just one small confusion, why warranty is left 4 years? I had seen ford selling 2014 edge with full 5 yr warranty few months back…as per sales ppl there, warranty would start once tha car is sold

    • yes…same for me i bought a 2015 cadillac ATS this march and they told the same…i have 5 yr warranty which counts from the day that i got the car

    • Author

      It’s daft, but the car became a “used” car when the new-car division sold it to the used-car division back in Feb 2015. So technically, I’m not even getting a full 4 years.

  3. Wasn’t the FJ bought new as well?

  4. congrats mash,
    just like my 2014 patrol which i got 2 years ago for 237k.
    bought it new from some shop in ras alkhor with 3 years dynatrade warranty with only first service free.

  5. Congrats Mash…

  6. Best choice you could make in that segment. Patrol is a better car than LC.
    That’s the only true competition in this segment.

    The german and american options can’t be considered for a long term ownership as they are expensive to maintain and you would sell it for peanuts.

    I say this so often. Avoid user cars dealers. Buy your car from private sellers or official pre-owned divisions of authorised dealers.

  7. Mabrook brother
    And you got a nice choice Nissan Patrol is really the king of all terrain and I also have a Patrol vtc and it drives nice even thought it’s 2008 but it drives fast mashallah
    And you did the perfect choice by going for Le 400hp I think that 80 more hp will definitely help in fuel economy and pickup

    Where else mine is 280 horsepower but i think it’s lighter than yours
    And Congratulations again
    Regards Juma

  8. Dealers here, whether you want to be pre owned or new, are becoming ridiculous, after thinking about a sedan with sporty touch to it, I finally settled on getting Lexus IS 350 F Sport, the dealer asking price was 230 for Platinum trim, then they made special discount and made it for 210K, I got it from dealer with Oman spec, 5 years unlimited mileage warranty, 2 services free, with extra specs that are not offered by dealer here, all that for 180K !!!!!, I saved over 30K dhs, a price for slightly used corolla ??!!. and BTW, I found many Patrols LE, that you can get for around 210 to 220 K (2016 model) with the same offer of warrenty, so frankly I think you still didnt save that much considering yours is 2014 and compared to the ones offered in Aweer, but for the dealer retail price, you saved some.

    • Author

      I trust an Aweer dealer’s “warranty” about as much as I trust an email offering me a million dollars. That, and I always get attitude from most of those bogans.

    • It depends on the car I guess, for example, I was considering Charger SRT also and I got one in Aweer (Zero kms), the warranty was from decent garages in Dubai but still I was not convinced as you said, American cars are not reliable and complicated so of course I will not buy it coz its 20K cheaper from dealer, but for the Lexus, I got warranty from Dynatrade which is almost as good as dealer, besides, people here by Japanese cars for reliability and resale value mainly, I took Chaises number to Dynatrade and they confirmed the car is covered with 5 years unlimited warranty and first 2 services free and it was 30k cheaper than dealer, considering it is a japanese car that has the highest reliability scores in the world, heck, I would buy it even if there is no warranty, we are talking about 30K, what could possibly go wrong and cost me 30K? … Anyway, congrats on your purchase, wish you drive it for millions of kilometers to come … be safe

    • Author

      You made a good calculated decision. I’ll go over my reasoning in future articles.

  9. I’ve seen 2016 full spec patrols from Saudi or Oman going for 250~270k dhs in dealers in Al Ain & AUH.

  10. Congratulations Mash! Finally the Patrol is revealed..

    My only gripe with either the SE or LE models has been the ripping off safety features by the dealer..these as I know have only two front airbags..a 200k car deserves lot better..

    • Author

      All will be covered in the updates. I was surprised too, but it’s not a huge loss in a huge car.

    • What!?
      Don’t tell me that the same thing happens with the Patrol as it happened with the LC. Basic LC doesn’t even have stability control anymore.
      I always praised Nissan for having decent safety features. Big disappointment. 2 airbags is fit for a 90’s cars.

  11. congrats Mash..

  12. Congrats Mashfique! Lovely catch! You can’t get such deals so easily at the time you want it.
    I was surprised to read the Patrol is not as luxurious as the OLD range rover…never knew even old range rovers beat the new cars..Wow

  13. Congrats for your “new” car.

    You described perfectly the used car experience in Dubai, the carelessness, the bad attitude etc.
    Already a couple of time automall could have sold me a car 4-6 months before marking it down at lower than the price I initially offered since it was there rotting in the showroom: I don’t bother going there anymore.

    Every single time I shop for a used car I end up buying new.

  14. Congrats on the buy. Flats spotted tyres would point to suspension fatigue and rubber and bushing damage. What would have been the service on a ‘0 km’ car over one and half years? Same concern goes for the battery and lubes. Any details?

  15. Nice, I love brand new cars. 🙂

  16. MashaAllah Mash,
    looking forward iftar party from your side

    cheers

  17. Mash, I know it’s a long shot but do you think Asif would give such discounts to us regular folk? Our family also has around a 150k budget and it would be amazing if we could afford a Patrol LE like yours

    • Author

      lol, no I did not buy it for 150k. But you can try and negotiate on one of the used cars on their lot. The deal depends on how quickly they want to sell a specific car.

  18. Haha of course I knew you wouldn’t have paid that less. Anyways I took your advice and went to their showroom, they have a 2013 fully loaded SE with ~35k kms on it for 165k, think it’s a decent deal and I may take it unless you have any objections?

  19. Nice and big review
    Nice work

  20. Congratulations

  21. Please send the interior pics of the car because I want to see the cloth interior

  22. Hi mash. What do you think of buying a brand new range rover with full 5 year warranty directly from agency, but the car is being sold by a third party showroom (as is quite common nowadays) and not directly by the agency. Please let me know

  23. I asked for the interior pics please

  24. I thank you for the info on your purchase.
    I am currently in the market for a used Patrol or Infiniti equivalent so this is very helpful.
    I would be very interested in speaking with your contact. Are you able to share details?
    Thank you

Browse archives

Share This